See You Tomorrow
by MidoriEyes
Summary: Berk has finally become a peaceful town now that the feud between vikings and dragons has been tamed. This story follows the challenges and adventures awaiting Hiccup and Toothless as new dangers arise, taking their friendship to soaring heights.
1. A New Challenge

Author's Note: So yeah, How to Train Your Dragon was an AMAZING movie, and I might be seeing it a third time! :) Now, you know how you always feel empty after a movie ends, like you're left wanting more? Well, I like writing about what happens afterwards, and that's what I'm gonna do with this fic!

* * *

STORY: Berk has finally become a peaceful town now that the feud between vikings and dragons has been tamed. Of course, how "peaceful" can it be when you live with such rambunctious creatures?? Now Hiccup and Toothless will be facing each coming day with new trials and new surprises. Follow along and see where their new adventures will take them!

RATING: K → T (There'll be some blood and mild violence, but nothing too extravagant).

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**~:~See You Tomorrow~:~**

**~:~**

**Chapter 1: A New Challenge**

"Hiccup! You got that latch ready yet?" Gobber called from the front window of his blacksmith shop.

"One moment!" The young apprentice finished polishing the metal contraption with a special wax to keep it from rusting too quickly, then brought it over to the patiently waiting customer. "Here ya go! Good as new."

"Aye, thank you Hiccup. Gobber." The burly viking nodded his appreciation at both of them and left to finish constructing the rest of his saddle.

"Well done, me boy! That's 67 repairs this week. We never used to get this much business before we started training dragons." Gobber started putting tools away since their lunch break was close at hand. Hiccup helped out by sweeping the floor. "Although, I must say, with you teaching me how to make all this fancy new equipment, I feel like our roles have reversed." He let out a hardy laugh.

Hiccup, being the humble boy he's always been, replied sheepishly, "Aw gee, Gobber. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a nut and a bolt." Hiccup paused and leaned on the broom's handle to relieve some weight off his prosthetic leg. "And, well, it's probably a little late to say this, but thanks. You know... for everything."

The large viking, even though he didn't look it, was equally modest when it came to receiving praise. "Oh lad... you don't have to thank me." He smiled, some tears coming to his eyes which he tried desperately to hide by pretending something got stuck in them. "You've been a great apprentice, Hiccup. I can hardly be given credit for all the things you've done for us. You should be proud!" He places a gruff hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know I am."

Hiccup smiled back, feeling that this might've been the first time he and Gobber had shared such a mutual bond between them.

It didn't stay that way for long though as the misty-eyed viking cleared his throat to regain his composure and shooed the boy off in the direction of the door.

"Now, off with ya! I'll finish cleanin' up here. You go put some meat on those bones of yours."

Hiccup opened the back door and, before he had a chance to reply, was surrounded by a group of girls, all about 5 to 6 years younger than him.

"Hi Hiccup!"

"Work hard today?"

"Wanna hang out with us?"

"Tell us about the time you defeated that huge dragon!"

This had been happening rather frequently. Ever since Hiccup had vanquished the Red Death, his notoriety had skyrocketed and he'd gained numerous fans, including his own personal "Hiccup Club". Frankly, having gotten used to melding into the shadows of his fellow vikings, Hiccup wasn't so sure he could handle this much attention all at once!

Nonetheless, he tried to be as polite as possible when turning their offers down. After all, he _did_ have a girlfriend. Hiccup relished at the thought of simply being able to _have_ that thought.

"Err, sorry ladies! It's kind of my lunch time and I need to, like, go and... you know, eat some... lunch." He tried to squirm his way in between the girls, but only ended up tangling himself further within their grasp as they started closing in on him.

Hiccup panicked while being pushed back against the wall. Although he needn't call upon their god of war for help against these girls, there were times when it seemed necessary.

'Oh Odin, help me.'

A guttural roar came from above and in a split second Toothless had landed gracefully next to the kids.

'That'll do.' The boy shrugged to himself.

"Hey there bud!" Toothless' throat rumbled happily. It had only been a few hours that he hadn't seen his friend, but even that was too long. Hiccup left the crowd of girls who were now in a stupor and mounted the Night Fury quickly.

"Well, uhh, see you girls later!" Without having to tell Toothless what to do, the dragon leapt off with Hiccup in tow. A mixture of excited squeals and sad groans emitted from behind them, which in turn made Toothless rather smug at the fact that Hiccup was now his for the time being.

"Phew! Thanks Toothless. I thought I'd have to tell Gobber I wouldn't be able to make it back." He patted the side of his dragon's neck and it responded with a croon. "Well, whaddya say? You hungry?" The only answer he got was a hasty acceleration towards the mess hall, nearly making him fall backwards. "Yeah, me too, buddy." Hiccup laughed.

When the two arrived, Toothless carefully let Hiccup off and became his support while the boy tried to steady himself.

It had been about a month since he's lost his leg, but it was still difficult getting used to the mechanical contraption that kept him a living, moving part of society. He'd been meaning to make a few adjustments, for it lacked the amount of flexibility he needed to be able to act quickly in case of an emergency (although the number of those had gone down significantly since his rise to fame).

Loosing a leg wasn't the only change in Berk lately. Business had been booming! It wasn't every day that you had to sharpen swords or repair cracks in hammers since dragons didn't usually come out as much during their 9 months of winter, but now that the beasts were a part of the family and almost every viking had their own to train, the equipment wouldn't hold up too well with the inexperienced. Needless to say, stuff broke. A lot.

Hiccup was about to step through the mess hall doors when he felt a familiar nudge at his side. He turned around to see the Night Fury wearing a pair of glistening eyes.

"No, no Toothless. You know that all dragons have to eat outside. You guys can be pretty messy you know! Not to mention the mysterious disappearing of people's food on their plates when our backs are turned." Hiccup eyed the dragon accusingly. Toothless' innocent act was pretty affective sometimes, but too many of these particular incidents had hardened Hiccup's resolve on this issue. The dragon's ears and tail drooped.

"Kjötvi has some fish for you guys in the back. I'll be out as soon as I'm done eating, okay?"

Toothless wanted so badly to follow Hiccup. But, like always, he knew he'd be back just like he said and decided to follow orders.

Around the other side of the mess hall was a door that led to the cook's kitchen, and outside of it stood a crowd of dragons waiting for their meals. Kjötvi burst through, carrying a large barrel of what smelled like raw fish in his strong arms. His equally strong voice boomed loud enough for each dragon to hear him.

"Alright! I've got some nice selections of flounder and karp today! Hope you all have a big appetite!" The creature's mouths were seeping drool like a bunch of babbling brooks. "Ha ha! I thought so. We'll do this in an orderly fashion, as usual. Now... _Upsy daisy_!" The viking inharmoniously threw the barrel into the air and watched as each dragon attempted to grab it.

So much for "orderly fashion".

Tuffnut and Ruffnut's Zippleback, having two heads and twice the advantage, was able to claim the first meal and fly off before any of the others tried stealing their prize. Next, Snotlout's Nightmare snatched the second barrel away from the Deadly Nadder's awaiting mouth. A dragon and its trainer become very much like each other as time goes by, because the angry blue dragon snapped at the Nightmare's hind quarters and caused it to yelp and drop the barrel of fish, giving the Nadder its chance to take back its food and run off.

"And that's what ya deserve ya greedy thing!" Kjötvi scolded him.

Once the Nightmare, Fishlegs' Gronckle, and a few other dragons had received their share, Toothless made his way around the corner, just as eager to get some food in his stomach.

Kjötvi saw the black beast and sported a large grin. "Toothless! I was wonderin' where you been. I got one barrel o' fish with your name on it." The cook, instead of throwing the barrel in the air, simply pushed it towards the dragon. For Kjötvi, smaller crowds meant less back aches.

Toothless gratefully sunk his jaws into the woven barrel and spilled its contents onto the grass. After smelling it to make sure no eels accidentally made their way into the fray, he grabbed the first fish, flicked it into the air, and let it slide down his throat.

Kjötvi laughed and picked up the battered and empty barrel. "Enjoy, ol' boy! Tell Hiccup I say hello." The viking lumbered back into the kitchen and closed the door.

As the Night Fury sat eating his fish, a few Terrible Terrors came scurrying up out of nowhere, intent on stealing some of his food. Growling at them never seemed to work, and Toothless was too busy trying to keep his fish in a tight pile to chase the little scavengers away. In the end, the black dragon sighed and threw a single fish out for the scaly buzzards and watched them scramble to get it. One of the Terrors burped a puff of fire, shook his head, and went back to eating. Rolling his neon green eyes, Toothless continued devouring his meal in peace.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup was sitting at the usual table where all the young vikings dwelled. He was working on a hefty piece of meat, unsuccessful at tearing even the thinnest strip of skin off. All this amazing hero stuff and you'd think he'd magically grow some stronger bones or something. Across from him the Thorston twins were gabbing about random topics.

"Dude, dude! I totally heard my dragon say something to me today, I swear!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Yeah, right. If it did, then why didn't I hear it? Your dragon is attached to mine." His sister Ruffnut scoffed.

"No seriously! I _saw_ his mouth moving, and like, _words_ came out of it and stuff." The longhaired blonde explained the phenomenon as if it were the eighth wonder of the world.

Ruffnut challenged her brother. "Oh yeah? What did it say?"

"Well, uh... it said something like, 'Arrroooghhaaarooorraawwrr'."

He then received a clean smack to the head.

"You idiot! Your dragon is just trying to do an impression of you!" Ruffnut chuckled at her own joke.

"Uh, I think I'd know if my dragon spoke to me or not, stupid!" He bashed his helmet up against hers.

Ruffnut pushed back just as hard. "Don't be so full of yourself, DIMWIT!"

"FATTY!"

"SNUB NOSE!!"

Like always, the others ignored their constant bickering and were talking amongst themselves, but Snotlout was mildly interested in what Tuffnut had mentioned.

"Hey, wouldn't it be cool if dragons actually _did_ talk? We could understand them so much better than we do now!"

"I don't know." Hiccup shrugged, finally ripping off some flesh from the turkey leg and chewing it slowly. "Dragons are pretty easy to understand once you've spent some time with them. Toothless, for example, when I first met him I had to kind of learn on the job what types of things he likes and doesn't like."

Snotlout huffed in reply. "Uh, yeah, but just in case you've forgotten, you've spent more time with dragons than us when you ran off right after dragon training to play with your little Night Fury!"

Fishlegs stepped in. "My Gronckle does this thing that involves ingesting food and then regurgitating it into my lap. Umm, is that important?"

"Oh, you're supposed to eat whatever he throws up. It's a sign of trust and friendship." Hiccup said like it was the most normal thing in the world while the others gagged.

"I think I just lost my appetite." Ruffnut pushed her plate away with the half eaten meat on it.

"HOW is eating a dragon's puke a sign of trust?" Snotlout cringed at the thought. "Please don't tell me that if I barf it back up my Nightmare will eat it again."

"Well, it's... it's complicated, okay? I didn't say understanding Toothless was an _easy_." The red head shrugged.

Astrid had finished her meal already, making Hiccup feel rather unmanly for a boyfriend. "You know, a lot of the people in town are having the same troubles every day. Maybe, since you know so much about how to train dragons, you could teach them?"

"......Huh?" Hiccup had a mouthful of turkey of which some was dangling from his lips as he stared at the girl, either from confusion at her suggestion, or from how beautiful her smile looked just now. He swallowed and coughed once. "You mean, like... train everyone on how to train?"

"Yeah." She answered nonchalantly. "That way we'd all spend less time arguing..." She glanced at the twins. "... and more time-"

"Being AWESOME." Snotlout cut in with a determined fist. Astrid shoved him away from her, for he was in desperate need of a bath.

Hiccup started to sweat in front of his peers. "Gee, guys, I don't know if I can, uhhh..." He scooted away nervously.

"Awww, c'mon man! You're, like, the dragon guru around here! Don't hold out on us!" Tuffnut put his hands on the table and inched closer, but Ruffnut interjected.

"Yeah, you're not the only one around here with a dragon anymore!"

Fishlegs was getting excited as well. "What if you wrote a book about it! It'd be like the new dragon book, except without the fear and terror!"

"Once again, I am LOVING this plan." Of course, Snotlout loved any plan that was in the majority.

"Well?"

Astrid's proposition had opened a box Hiccup hadn't even dreamed of touching yet. Becoming a trainer of dragon trainers?? There was no way he could muster up enough courage to publicly speak in front of his entire village! In fact, he almost wondered how this subject hadn't been brought up by someone like his father or the viking elder immediately after they had reached a healthy relationship with the dragons. But that was besides the point!

Through one of the high open windows of the mess hall, Hiccup saw a black blotch in the corner of his eye. Said blotch happened to be a flying Toothless who had finished his meal and was ready and rearing to go.

"Oh, would you look at the time! I gotta go back to the shop, you know, got a LOT of orders to fill. Soooo, I'll see you guys later then, k bye!" The boy gave Astrid a quick peck on the cheek, something he always did before parting ways with her, and ran out the doors, immediately hopping onto the Night Fury's back.

"Let's go, Toothless!"

Before anyone had the chance to stop them, the pair sprinted into town as if the Red Death had risen from hell itself.

Astrid watched as they disappeared through the cluster other buildings and sighed. She had thought the idea would prove to be greatly effective if carried out, but, knowing how shy Hiccup was, she didn't think he'd agree so easily. The egging on by their friends wasn't helping much either.

'Oh Hiccup. If only you could see how much you're still needed among our people.'

* * *

After a hard day at work, Hiccup returned home with Toothless. They were both pretty exhausted and felt a well deserved rest was in order. One of the bolts holding the bottom attachment to Hiccup's leg in place was coming loose and dealt the boy a bit of discomfort.

"Ngh." He tried twisted the piece back into its former position, but this only proved how much he needed a proper tool to do the job.

Toothless looked on with concern etched into his features. The Night Fury remembered how pained he was to find his human's left leg mauled after saving him from the Red Death's fiery aftermath. It was his fault after all that it ended up that way. When he saw Hiccup plummeting to where Toothless was unable to reach, the dragon thought of the only thing he could and latched onto the boy's scrawny leg with his sharp teeth before a single hair on his head was singed. He might've bitten harder than he should've because of the sheer panic of loosing his one and only friend. After Gobber inspected the leg back at Berk, he diagnosed that the puncture wounds would've healed properly, but it wasn't that nor the loss of blood that was the problem. Infection had already taken its course. A dragon's bite was able to cause rapid deterioration in its prey's flesh, which was no exception when it came to humans. If the wound had been treated sooner, then they might not have been left with the single option of cutting off the unsalvageable part of Hiccup's leg and fixing him up with a metal prosthetic one. Luckily, the artificial part of him stopped at the knee, in which everything above that had survived. Even so, Toothless felt guilty for days on end and pampered his friend as often as he could. What the dragon couldn't understand was how Hiccup had never _once _blamed for his loss. It was as if he knew how Toothless felt. Was there already that much of a connection between him and a human? Was he ever lucky that it was this boy that found him on the day he was shot down!

The sound of Hiccup's soothing voice brought Toothless back from his contemplations. "Don't worry, bud. I'll be fine. Nothing a little tweaking won't fix." He scratched behind his dragon's ear, receiving a pleased purr in return. The boy yawned and entered his house along with Toothless.

"Ah, Hiccup! I was wondering when you'd be home. It's kind of late, don't ya think?"

Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast, was sitting at the dining table and rose when his son opend the door.

"Oh, hey dad. Yeah, Gobber and I had our hands full today. We closed up later than we wanted to."

"Ah, I see. I'm glad you've got a full load to work with then. How's the leg?" He always seemed to ask this nowadays.

"It just needs to be tightened a little. I might get started on another prosthetic leg soon, maybe something that I can actually run in."

"Good, good."

An awkward pause. It was a common occurrence between the two, but they were getting to understand each other as time went by.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, son. But, if you're too tired we could just do this tomorrow, or..."

"Now is fine. I won't be going to bed right away. What's up?"

Toothless curled up near the fire, patiently waiting until they finished up their chat.

"You see, Hiccup, a lot of dragon owners in the village have been coming to me with problems relating to the creatures. There have been strange occurrences regarding their behavior lately, as well as this... thing they do with throwing up half of their meal...?"

"You have to eat it."

"What?"

"You have to eat what they throw up. It's a bonding thing."

Stoick gave his offspring an odd look and nearly shivered at the disgusting thought, but kept going so as not to break his concentration. "So, anyway, the village elders and I have been discussing these issues and figured that... well, since you've spent so much time with Toothless and other dragons that maybe you could help everyone out?"

Oh not _this_ again.

"Erm, on second thought dad, I'm REALLY tired all of a sudden so I think I'll just go hit the sack, yup!"

"I'm serious, Hiccup." Darn it! Whenever he used that tone... "Your experience with them is far more extensive than any of ours. Yes, we vikings have been fighting dragons since the dawn of time, but training them? This is a whole new world for the rest of us, and we need your help." The red bearded man gained more confidence and approached his son upfront.

Hiccup sighed in exasperation and began pacing back and forth while talking. "Dad. I don't know if I'm ready for something like this. I've never had to talk to a large group of people before, let alone teach an entire village's population on how to train a dragon! I'm mess up, I'd get stage fright, I'd look like a total idiot in front of everyone. And I know that you know how nervous I get around too many people, so why would you even suggest I do this?"

Stoick placed both hands on Hiccup's shoulders and had the boy look at him straight in the eye.

"If you can take down a Night Fury, train it, and save our people from a dragon 10 times the normal size, I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. That's the way of a viking."

'I thought the way of a viking was "Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill some more." '

But, despite his reluctance, Hiccup knew he wouldn't be able to win this argument, not when his father brought up "the way of the viking".

Taking a deep breath, the boy replied. "Okay. I'll do it." Shoulders slumping slightly.

"Good! You'll start teaching in a few days, 3 times a week in the Kill Arena." (The "Kill Arena" was currently being changed to a less intimidating name to calm the dragons). "You're doing the right thing, son. I know you'll do fine." Stoick nodded assuredly and grabbed something off the table behind them. "Here. I want you to have this. It's another memento from your mother."

'Oh god, please don't let it be made out of anything of, or pertaining to, her breasts.'

"It's her dagger from when she was your age. I noticed you've lost the one I gave you a while back."

"Oh." Hiccup said, relieved. He took the sheathed object in his hands and inspected the intricate engravings on the sides.

"Use it well."

"But, dad, I don't think I'll need this anymore since we're, you know, friends with the dragons and all."

"I never said you'd need it for dragon killing. There might be some tough situations you get into sometimes when neither I nor Toothless will be around. Just remember that you'll always have that blade as a fallback, okay? Promise me you'll always keep it with you."

Hiccup could tell this was a command, not a question. His father wanting him to carry some protection around was kind of understandable since he had almost lost him on more than one occasion, so what could Hiccup do other than say...

"Yes sir."

Maybe his father was right. It wasn't so bad to have something other than a dragon to protect yourself. After all, dragons weren't the only dangers they had had to worry themselves with in Berk, but those weren't often spoken of only because not many had traveled outside of Berk except by boat.

"Thanks dad." Hiccup smiled and slipped the knife into his belt.

"Aye. Now, off with ya. Don't want those dark circle under yer eyes getting' any bigger." Stoick joked.

"Ha! There's a chance that will most likely happen whether I want it to or not."

Toothless rose and passed Hiccup up the stairs. "Night, dad." He called down before he too retired into his room.

"G'night, son." Stoick smiled back and went to put out the fire.

In Hiccup's room, he had already screwed the loose bolt back into place, changed into his sleeping garments and settled himself into bed. He _was_ going to stay up and make a blueprint for his new leg, but, after being fed so much information in one day, it was decided that sleep was more important.

"Man! I don't know about you Toothless, but I. Am. TIRED."

The dragon emitted a lazy vibrato, a sign that he agreed.

"Seems we've got a lot on our plate this next week, huh. You'll help me out, right?" As if comforting him, Toothless came over to Hiccup's bedside and laid his head down on the covers. The boy reached over and started stroking the Night Fury's brow. "I knew I could count on you."

After a few minutes of doting over his dragon, Toothless lifted his head and nuzzled his friend's face affectionately.

"Heh. You too, buddy." Hiccup returned the gesture and wrapped his arms around the creature's head. Toothless melted in his owner's warm embrace, thinking that he'd never get tired of this feeling.

With that, the two friends fell into a pleasant slumber with the weight of the world lifting off their shoulders.

* * *

Hiccup was falling.

But why?

Toothless was nowhere to be found. Only a stale darkness that seemed to stretch on until forever.

The boy had felt this kind of fear before. But from where? The air around him was getting hotter, and finally a light could be seen from below. Was it a way out? He could almost here his friends calling his name.

Far from it though.

A pit of fire awaited, and Hiccup could do nothing to stop himself from landing in it.

There was no way out of this. Toothless was stil missing. What had happened to him? Even now, when he was about to die a horrible death, Hiccup was worried for his faithful companion.

Then, not but a few inches away from him, his mother's dagger glistened. The fire fast approaching, Hiccup reached out and grasped the weapon in his sweaty palms.

After which his vision blurred, and consciousness had faded away.

* * *

Author's Note: WOOOAAAHHH WHAT'S GOIN' ON MAAANNN?! You'll have to be patient until I'm finished with the next chapter. ;) I pride myself with making the characters in my fics be IN character, so I hope I'm achieving that with this movie since I've only seen it twice so far. Bye for now!


	2. Preshow Jitters

Author's Note: Okay! I'm really excited for what I have planned in this story. I can only hope I won't become bored of it and quit half way through like with some of my other fics. :C Your reviews fuel me up though, so maybe I'll have the energy to keep going this time! Without further adieu, let's find out what's happened to Hiccup!

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**~:~See You Tomorrow~:~**

**~:~**

**Chapter 2: Pre-show Jitters**

"AHHHHH!"

Toothless woke up, startled at the ear-splitting scream of his owner. His gaze darted around the room for signs of danger, but there didn't seem to be anything out of place. He then inspected the shivering boy beside him who was currently covered in a cold sweat. The usually freckled, pale skin looked even paler, if that were possible, and his eyes bloodshot. After a few seconds the black dragon was able to sort of guess what had occurred. Nightmares were a common curse among all living creatures (and not just the dragons _called_ Nightmares).

Hiccup's lungs concentrated on the unsteady in and out of air as he slowly but surely realized what happened. It was dark, but the glowing green eyes of his beloved friend helped bring him back to reality. The bed sheets were slightly damp with the boy's perspiration and his untamed hair felt the same way. Gripping the blankets, he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing into its normal pattern once more, something he always found would prove rather useful after having a terrible dream. And, with a worried and whining Toothless by his side, he was able to recover even faster.

"I'm... I'm okay, buddy. It was just a nightmare." His hands released the fabric beneath them, but something was different. He looked down at his lap. "Hn?"

Since when had he turned into his dad and started sleeping with a weapon at night?

Hiccup's new blade was clutched tightly in his right hand as if it were his last life line to this world. Or, at least, that's how it felt in the dream anyway. He recalled every detail so vividly; the gut-churning descent into darkness, the hellish fire pit, his mother's dagger... He had not a clue what any of it meant, for Hiccup was no expert in dream interpreting. Instead of bothering to find out, he kept the nightmare from swimming around in his head and focused on how the knife ended up with him.

"Good thing the sheath didn't come off. That would've been an unpleasant surprise for my dad." He halfheartedly laughed to himself, still sounding a little shaky. He carefully got out of bed and placed the blade on his work desk.

Toothless was still concerned as to whether the boy was in his right mind and showed his anxiety by shifting around, causing the floor boards to creak. Luckily, Hiccup's father, whose room was just below, was a heavy sleeper.

The redhead gave his dragon a sleepy grin and climbed back into bed. "I wonder, do you ever have bad dreams?"

Toothless would never admit this, but before he met the young human he hadn't experienced a nightmare in his life. What was there to fear when you were a god among dragons? But Hiccup had somehow wriggled his way into the Night Fury's stony heart and constantly filled it with dread. Not dread for himself, of course, but for the young, reckless red head sitting next to him with a leg and a half. But, as stated, Toothless would never reveal this little fact openly, therefore the dragon simply made himself comfortable on the floor and pretended he hadn't heard the question.

"I didn't think so." Hiccup smiled at his companion's answer and got under the covers for the rest of a, hopefully, good nights sleep. "G'night, buddy. Again."

In return the boy heard a small gargle and almost immediately fell back into dreamland.

Unbeknownst to the two, a pair of smiling eyes were peering through the slightly open door of Hiccup's room, his bright red beard almost masking the small upward curl of his lips. Stoick the Vast was indeed a hard one to awaken, but, when you hear your own child's petrifying scream, it was a little inevitable not to spring out of bed with an axe close at hand. Quietly as he could, Stoick closed the door and tiptoed downstairs to continue his slumber, knowing there was nothing more to worry about as long as Toothless was there.

* * *

Hiccup was thinking about how the week had gone by all too quickly as he stood in the middle of the former Kill Arena, now known as the "Training" Arena. Not very original, but vikings weren't all that clever at naming things to begin with. Toothless stood by his side, studying his surroundings curiously. The protocol was that Hiccup would train 5 people in an hour lesson that introduced the basics of dragon handling, then 5 more in the next hour, and so on and so forth. On this day, all the boy would be doing is present an explanation on how training would be organized and for everyone to sign up on a certain day of the week to attend. After a couple weeks, everyone in Berk shall have trekked through lesson 1 and had enough time to practice whatever they've learned. This schedule would be carried out until all 10 lessons were completed.

For some reason, Hiccup was more nervous now than when he had to "kill" his first dragon in front of the same crowd of people. Maybe it was because now they all looked to the young lad for guidance, something they would have never done before he became a legend. It was baffling! Hiccup had wanted... no, _craved_ this kind of attention his whole pitiful life and, now that he had it within calloused hands, it became a burden? Was there even a trace of viking blood in him?!

"Toothless, I'm beginning to think that I was kinda, sorta, maybe, most definitely adopted as a baby."

A familiar crushing weight on his shoulder brought Hiccup out of his melancholy thoughts.

"Come now, son. Ye've got nothin' to worry about! Everyone gathered here today are people who _know_ you."

"Uh, yeah, you see that is exactly where the problem lies." The boy rubbed his forehead with a sunken in look on his face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Oh, suck it in, lad." Gobber popped up on the other side of him with a swift slap on the back. This encouragement did nothing to quell the bile in his stomach. "It's just a small speech in front hundreds of friends and family. You'll do just fine."

Hiccup wondered if the peg-leg viking was doing this on purpose.

Once it seemed that the entire population had congregated, Stoick raised both his hands in a gesture to request silence.

"Welcome! Welcome one and all on this fine day! I trust everyone is doing well?"

The viking chief received a loud cheer, which sounded more like a dragon's roar with such a huge crowd. Although it made sense since the dragons themselves were joining in too.

"Ha ha ha! Wonderful! Now then. This week marks the beginning of my son's dragon training... training." A couple of vikings chuckled at Stoick's choice of words. "You will all learn the necessary process and procedure on how to training a full grown dragon. No doubt it'll be tough, backbreaking work, but we vikings are tougher and have broken more backs than we can count. So, before you all get too riled up, I leave the rest of the explainin' to my son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III!"

The upper level of the arena echoed with applause and hoots.

'Aw geez dad, why did you have to use my full name?' The boy took a nervous step away, but Toothless pressed his nose into the small of his back and eased him forward. The consolation helped, but not by much. With sweat dripping down his freckled face, Hiccup puffed out his chest and tentatively put up both his hands to quiet everyone down like his father had. Surprisingly, it worked!

Hiccup – I

Screw Up's – 0

"Uhhh..." What a great way to start a speech. "H-hello! I'm Hiccup. But you already know... that..."

Nothing but blank stares. But, in the corner of his eye, he saw his friends standing in the shadows of the arena's gate. Astrid smiled and gave the boy a thumbs up, letting him know that he was doing okay.

He nodded back, but not very confidently. "Anyway, like my da- er, Stoick the Vast said, I'm going to be your training teacher person for the next, uh, something weeks? And- woah!"

Toothless bumped Hiccup in the elbow with a fortifying expression.

"Ah, yes! I almost forgot. This is my friend Toothless, a Night Fury. You've all heard of Night Furys, right? They're black so they blend in at night and shoot things with their lightning breath and..."

A gruff cough came from behind him and Hiccup glanced to see his father giving him a "as if the citizens of Berk really needed to be reminded of what Night Furys were capable of" look.

Oh boy. This whole thing was going to hell in a hand basket.

"But, um, yeah, soooo... you just gotta..." Hiccup's hands started sweating as did every other part of his body. In addition to accidentally dropping the sign up sheets which he scrambled to pick up, the pressure on his head was growing with each expectant eye focused on his person. "Y-you gotta sign up and, uh wait, that's not... first you have to, errr..."

Hiccup had been in a play once when he was a tiny tot, or tinier than he was now. He had the most insignificant part out of the entire cast, but the role of a tree was harder than it looked! Standing there for hours on end, not moving a muscle, being the center piece on a hot stage with thousands of smelly vikings who paid attention to everything that twitched. The _one_ time in their lives they decided to prolong their attention spans, and it _had_ to be then.

The memories of stage fright plagued him, using his skull as a punching bag. Had the temperature gone up a bit, or was that just him? Did the arena grow taller all of a sudden? Had he told dad to turn the stone oven off this morning? Did they even _have_ a stone oven? And why was everyone turning up-side down?

Oh wait. That was him.

Toothless caught the unconscious boy on his broad head and laid him down gently. He hovered over his owner worriedly.

"Hiccup!" Astrid ran out into the arena's center and knelt down to inspect him.

A collective gasp was heard from the vikings above, neither moving to help, but watching to see if the boy would recover.

One man was smart enough to know this wouldn't happen, and slapped his hands together. "Well! If you want to sign up for dragon training training, the sheets will be posted in the mess hall later today. That is all." After Gobber finished his short and sweet explanation, he too went over to check on Hiccup while the crown murmured and fussed.

Stoick's body blocked the searing sun as he stood over his child. It's not like this type of thing hadn't occurred before, but in this situation, and with it being a particularly warm day, he wasn't sure if he should be concerned about the possibility of heat stroke.

"Will he be alright?" The red-bearded viking asked, trying to hide his uneasiness.

Gobber noticed this, so he gave his old friend the honest truth, "He'll live to hobble another day. Probably just overwhelmed from stress. The lad's never really had to make many public appearances, you know."

To be frank, since Gobber half expected this whole scenario, he had ordered Fishlegs to have a bucket of water and rag ready in case Hiccup had a little... well, hiccup. He wiped the boy's head with the damp cloth and took the water that had a drinking ladle ready and waiting.

Gobber took the utensil and threw it to the side. He then proceeded to pour the water all over Hiccup's face, which sufficiently woke him up albeit he was hacking water up from his esophagus.

"You okay, boy?" The blacksmith patted his apprentice on the back a couple times. "You gave us quite a scare there."

Toothless crooned in sympathy.

"Hu-what?" Hiccup saw everyone circling him and shook his head. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember, dude? You feinted like a little girl!" Tuffnut said, obvious to the delicacy of the situation.

Ruffnut elbowed him in the diaphragm. "How can he remember when he was unconscious, idiot?"

"Guys! Don't torment him anymore than he already is." Astrid snapped at the twins.

Fishlegs put in his two cents. "Good thing Toothless was there to break your fall."

Hiccup sat up fully and kept his eyes down at his lap, eyebrows pressing together as it all came back. Was it possible to say "I told you so" to yourself?

Hiccup – 1

Crushed Pride – 100000000000

"Hiccup?" Stoick said after an odd moment of silence. The gang could tell something wasn't right with the boy.

Wordlessly, Hiccup stood and started walking in the direction of the exit, too ashamed to meet eyes with his fellow vikings.

"Hiccup?" Astrid called out, but ,even for her, he dared not turn around. Instead, the red head left the arena without speaking to anyone. Toothless, just as confused as the others, followed his owner into the woodsy area of Berk. The black dragon kept his distance for a little while, but eventually couldn't take the heavy silence between them and trotted along side the youngling.

Hiccup, still concentrating on the non-existent path in front of him and almost tripping a few times, finally spoke.

"Who am I kidding, Toothless?"

The Night Fury tilted his head at the question.

"There's no way someone like me could become a teacher, let alone for hundreds of people."

Toothless made a low whining sound. If there were only some way to cheer the human up, but these beings were very hard to please at times (although he, too, gave Hiccup his share of this attribute as well).

Toothless tugged on the boy's shirt tail with his teeth, as if wanting him to go somewhere with him.

"I can't, Toothless." He stopped and looked into the first pair of eyes he'd seen since his "damsel in distress" performance, a role that he definitely hadn't signed up for. "If I go back, they'll all laugh at me for sure." His gaze didn't hold for long though, and Hiccup averted his eyes from the giant green orbs seeming to stare into his very soul. "You'd think after all the excitement we've had together, I'd have a little more self-esteem, right? At least, that's what I'd hoped for. What's _wrong_ with me?" He clenched his hands and turned around, waddling off to who knows where.

The dragon's chest gave a tired heave, not wanting to see his owner like this. Hiccup was obviously more than a little depressed, but it wasn't like him to look so defeated. If anything, Toothless had to cheer him up at all costs, so he thought of the one thing that always made _him_ happy when experiencing the dragon blues.

Toothless bounded to catch up with Hiccup and, before the boy could blink, was carrying him off through the forest.

"Woah! Hey, Toothless, what're you doing?" He clung to the reigns to keep from being bumped off. The wind was fairly strong, so the young viking had to lean down close to his friend's ear for any kind of words to be heard. "I already told you I don't want to go back there!" But no sooner had he said that that Hiccup realized they weren't heading in the direction of the town.

Whenever he went flying with Toothless, the boy would more often than not let the Night Fury chart its course for them. This was no different just because they were on the ground, so Hiccup let his trust in Toothless take over and hung on tight. His buddy had never steered him wrong before, so why doubt that now?

The closed in cove was shimmering with all its natural beauty as the day Hiccup first found Toothless in it. A few doves flew off, startled by the presence of the dragon. The lake, if you could call it as such, that the birds were bathing in was as clear as glass and equally still in the area away from the waterfall. This place held great sentimental value for the two friends, and this was always a common hang out spot for when they were bored or needed some time to themselves.

For the first time today Hiccup revealed an honest to gods smile, which was contagious when it came to Toothless.

"Still hasn't changed much since we were last here two days ago." The boy laughed to himself. He once more leaned down towards Toothless' ear and said in a quiet voice...

"Thanks, buddy."

With a joyful roar, the dragon swooped down into the cove and settled by the side of the water, letting Hiccup slide down beside him and lean against the soft belly of his companion. The boy was planning on spilling out all his worries to the Night Fury, but after resting his eyes for a bit, felt too exhausted to do so.

Exhausted from feinting. What a card!

Once Toothless heard soft snoring sounds coming from his owner, he brought his tail in closer as if to form a protective barrier around the youngling, and laid a wing on top of him to block out the light and keep him warm. With this, he let his heavy lids close and joined Hiccup in his nap.

* * *

When Hiccup opened his eyes, the same pitch black setting had formed around him and he was falling... again. He immediately looked below him to find that familiar orange glow hurdling towards him. Err, vise versa in this case.

Panic overtook him as he was still the only one to be found in this desolate downfall, but his mother's dagger still gleamed above, just like before. Hiccup expected to grab it like he did that last time, but noticed it was a little farther from his reach. With a bit of stretching the boy was just about to grasp the handle in time before the flames got a chance to lick his boots.

Instead, Hiccup was woken up with a hard jab to his upper arm.

"Ow!" He exclaimed. Even in his groggy state, he knew who could've been the culprit of punching him in the shoulder as he slept, not that he wasn't grateful seeing as he was about to be burnt to a crisp in his nightmare. Having the same bad dream twice in a row was strange, but he'd think about that later. Right now, his more than agitated girlfriend was looming over him with her arms crossed.

NOT a good sign.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, at least I didn't leave you with a cliffhanger this time, right? :D Sorry if I took too long in getting this chapter finished. Being a junior in college isn't exactly the time where I'm able to produce fan fictions left and right (and I'm sure some of you know this feeling lol).

NEXT CHAPTER will have some Hiccup/Astrid fluff of course, so look forward to that, kiddies. ;)

See ya!


	3. Taking the Reigns

Author's Note: LOLOLOLOL!! I JUST SAW THE MOVIE AGAIN FOR THE THIRD TIME HURRRGGGHHH!!!!!! In case you can't tell, I am very much pleased by this. :) I shall be inspired more than ever to continue this story now!

ANYway, chapter 3 time!!! Your reviews are wonderful and I thank you all for the encouragement! :)

If I make any grammar or spelling mistakes, I apologize. I'm a well versed, educated person who knows how to write and has an extended vocabulary, but I'll often accidentally breeze over an error in my story after I've re-read it to check for mistakes. Someone pointed out in the last chapter that I used the wrong spelling for "faint", and I feel kinda stupid about it. I'm thinking maybe playing my Pokemon Soul Silver is brainwashing me into using "feint" attack or something. XD

**IF YOU WANNA SEE SOME SKETCHES I DID OF HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, GO TO MY DEVIANTART. My username is MidoriEyes.**

So yeah, let's begin!

* * *

**~:~See You Tomorrow~:~**

**~:~**

**Chapter 3: Taking the Reigns**

"Heh heh... Hi Astrid."

Hiccup's crooked smile faltered at the sight of the blonde's irritated demeanor. For good measure, she punched him again on the same arm.

"Ow! One hit wasn't enough?" He rubbed the sore spot. No doubt there'd be a bruise there now.

"I came out here looking for you and find that you're sleeping? What, did everything back there mean nothing to you?" She didn't use the full force of her voice since she knew Hiccup's pride was already crumbling from his recent incident, but nonetheless the boy needed a stern talking to.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just... froze up, I guess. It's not the first time, as you well know." He got up and brushed the dirt from his pants. Toothless had unfolded his wing to reveal the boy as soon as he had seen Astrid come stomping towards the two. The dragon was aware of the kinds of moods she got in, and this was one where he never got involved.

The girl sighed. Seeing how pathetic her boyfriend felt at the moment, she took her tone down a few notches. "Well, it's not going to solve any of your problems, you know. If you couldn't even remain conscious during your speech back there, how are you going to train everyone?"

"Hey, I'll only be training a few people at a time, so it shouldn't be as big of a deal, right?" The boy shrugged and distracted himself by throwing some stones into the lake's edge.

"Let's hope so." Astrid shook her head in dismay, rather disappointed that Hiccup was acting like he didn't care. But she knew this was one of several masks he wore when in denial. Maybe asking for him to get over it and move on was being too hasty? The red head may have done some spontaneously crazy things in the past, but back then there was no choice since it was either a life or death outcome. This issue didn't exactly associate with either. "Look, Hiccup..." She started out more tenderly this time. "You had a bout of stage fright. No sweat! Everyone goes through that phase. You just haven't been taught how to overcome it yet."

There was a short, thoughtful pause before he answered her.

"So... you're saying that you'll help me?" He turned around, grinning at the round about way Astrid was trying to cheer him up.

"Well, _maybe_." The girl shifted bashfully from one foot to the next, making sure not to meet Hiccup's eyes. "But, only if you drop this mamby pamby attitude and start taking hold of your fears _would you stop smiling like that."_

Hiccup was too tickled not to smile. Astrid wasn't always one to offer help, so this was a rare opportunity indeed. He dared not tease her too much though. Like a cornered dragon, she was capable of some vicious tantrums if you didn't play your cards right.

The boy faced her completely and replied with a soft, "Thanks, Astrid."

The girl felt her face warm up and she smiled back at his sunlit form. "Yeah, well, if I were to leave you to your own devices who knows what would happen the next time around." She approached Hiccup and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. It was amusing how her boyfriend's eyes still widened with surprise whenever she did this. His voice almost cracked as he spoke.

"Err, let me guess. That was for everything else?"

"Tch. Are you kidding me? THAT was to get you to pay attention." She rolled her eyes and made her way towards Toothless.

"B-but I was paying atten- oof!" Astrid had thrown him the dragon saddle.

"C'mon. We're going for a little ride first. You've spent too much time on your back lately." She joked with him. Toothless rumbled eagerly knowing that taking a leisurely flight would certainly help his owner feel better again.

With those two pairs of big beautiful eyes staring ardently at the boy, Hiccup gave in and smiled. How could he say no?

After fastening the saddle and mounting himself, he waited for Astrid to wrap her arms securely around his waist. "Let's fly, buddy!"

Toothless made his sound of approval, flapping those large black wings until they were out of the cove and above the trees. The three climbed higher and higher until Berk was visible to their left. The altitude they were at had the wind in their favor as the Night Fury soared over the town effortlessly. The Training Arena still had some stragglers from Hiccup's big speech, but mostly everyone had gone home for the afternoon.

Astrid saw the young viking tense up at the sight, so she squeezed him around the middle.

"Hey, don't think about it, kay?"

Hiccup glanced behind him and nodded. He knew she was right. Dwelling over his screw up would only worry his friends even more. Focusing on the magnificent view in front of him, Hiccup leaned forward, a signal for Toothless to go faster.

It had been a while since they were able to fly like this. So much preparation had gone into the dragon training lesson plans that neither Hiccup, Toothless, nor Astrid hardly had the time for each other or anything remotely relaxing. The teenagers could feel the contraction in their muscles unfurl like steam being released from a copper kettle. It was exhilarating, but not as much as when Toothless started to perform his death-defying tricks and stunts, sending an adrenaline rush from their toes to their heads. Astrid wasn't so frightened anymore about flying since she'd already been on the rollercoaster of one of the most notorious dare devils in Berk. Her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, although it excelled at being quick on the ground, was no match for Toothless' air speed.

Lost in her thoughts, Astrid hadn't realized that they landed until Hiccup hopped off the saddle. He reached out his hand to help her down, which she took graciously. What was odd was that they looked like they were still high in the sky. The blonde walked around to the other side of Toothless and had her break taken away by the view. The three visited these palisades a couple times before and usually just sat at the edge to talk or get away from all the nosiness that came with their new, popular lifestyle. One thing remained; Astrid loved this place.

"It's amazing, really. Did you ever think we could do this? We could've spent our whole lives without seeing an arial view of Berk and never known how beautiful it was." She let her legs drop over the cliff side and made room enough for Hiccup to join her. He first knelt down, then leaned back, supporting his weight on his hands and cautiously bringing down his right leg, then the prosthetic left.

"I know. Dragons see this kind of stuff every day. They're probably sick of it by now actually." He joked. They heard a thump behind them and looked to see Toothless laying down with his back towards them, resting and guarding.

Hiccup scratched the Night Fury's scaly back since that was a hard spot to reach for the dragon. He received a thankful purr in return.

Astrid smiled and became strangely jealous of the two. The bond between Hiccup and Toothless was so close that she almost felt her presence was an intrusion. The girl was soon reassured, though, that she too had a special place with them as Hiccup shyly took her hand in his. He didn't look at her, just sat staring at the horizon, his anxiousness revealed by his lips pressing together and palms getting sweaty with each passing second. This was obviously one of the most daring moves he had tried with Astrid, or any female in general, and she found it absolutely endearing.

Just to shake him up a bit more, she leaned in and placed her head on his shoulder, causing the boy to tense up like she expected. If anything, this would surely take Hiccup's mind off the recent blunder in the Training Arena. But, just in case...

"Hiccup I'll help you-"

"Tomorrow I'd like you to help me-"

In unison: "Huh?"

The two had spoken at the same time and didn't hear what the other said.

"You first." Astrid said sheepishly. Hiccup decided to accept the offer since the _last_ time he let someone speak first it didn't go as he had planned.

"Tomorrow." His face was solemn. He looked at her, making sure he could keep going.

"Yeah?"

Continuing, "Tomorrow, I want you to teach me how to improve my social skills. I don't think I can do it alone."

Astrid wanted to laugh, but from irony. Hiccup had beaten her to the punch.

"I mean, I know most vikings don't really have social skills, or need them for that matter, but I've been thinking a lot lately."

"About what?" Astrid shifted to face him.

"Well, in case this wasn't obvious already by my beefy arms and rugged looks, I'm the son of a chief. Berk is going to be counting on me for all its problems one day and I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'm just not cut out for it.... And I don't know if I ever will be."

It was only now that Astrid understood how deep Hiccup's distress had burrowed itself. For him to virtually fail in publicly speaking to all of his fellow vikings, which Stoick the Vast did almost every single day, must've put a great deal of pressure on the young teenager. It would probably be a long time before Hiccup had to inherit their tribe, especially since dragons weren't a constant tribute to their death counts anymore, but if for some reason an accident arose and his father couldn't perform as a leader, then...

"Alright, let's sum up the facts." Astrid stood, bringing Hiccup with her. "You've befriended a Night Fury, the most powerful and elusive of all dragons, you've single handedly vanquished their queen, and through it all you've only lost one leg." Hiccup wanted to thank her for the comforting reminder, but held it in so she could finish. "Out of all that, what is it exactly that _doesn't_ make you chief material, Mr. Horrendous Haddock the third?"

Hiccup snickered at his girlfriend's wit. "Dragons and people are two completely different barrels of fish, Astrid."

"So? Maybe one of those barrels has a rotten eel in it. Doesn't mean you can't pick it out, right? Besides, Toothless and I will be there to back you up."

"Well, unfortunately, Toothless isn't too fond of eel." The dragon recognized that particular word and groaned in disgust. "But, yeah. Thanks." Hiccup was beaming on the inside. How lucky was he that such a cool girl was willing to go so far for him! But, as if sensing his happiness, Astrid interjected.

"Ah ah ah! I didn't agree on helping you yet." A mischievous smile crossed the blonde's face as she waltzed on over to Toothless' side.

"Wait, what? But I thought you- oh come on! Don't I deserve a little bit of special treatment? I mean we're... we're..."

"We're?..." Astrid knew what Hiccup was trying to say, but wanted to see how far he'd get in finishing his sentence. Hiccup knew this as well.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

Guess not today.

Toothless crooned against the girl's soft hands as she pet him. "You have to let me ride Toothless. Then I'll help you."

"Uhh, you _were_ awake all those times you've been flying thousands of feet in the air, right?

"I **mean**, you have to let me steer."

A stifling pause.

"Hold on. You're saying you want to pilot him?" Hiccup's voice sounded a little more bewildered than he meant it to be, and Astrid raised an eyebrow at this. He wanted to protest, but at the same time he didn't think there'd be a point. Was he just being protective of Toothless because he'd had no one else ride him before, or was he being protective of Astrid whom he wasn't sure could maneuver the dragon and could possibly end up getting hurt (including him)? The boy's arms fell to his sides in defeat.

Oh, what was the use?

She took this as an approval and turned to Toothless for his permission as well. "Would you mind? I promise I won't let us crash."

The black dragon had seen how resigned his companion was to the request and decided to go with that answer. After all, besides Hiccup, this girl was one whom he shared a lot of trust.

"Awesome." A grin appeared on the girl's face.

Before they could blink, they were sky high and doing rather well considering Astrid had to learn the mechanical steering of Toothless' tail on the job. Hiccup was holding on to her waist and back seat driving the whole time, giving strict commands on what foot position would turn them left, right, and up-side down if the situation called for it.

"Okay now, you wanna focus on the pedals rather than the reigns since Toothless relies more on his tail than anything. Oh, and also don't forget to bring your feet back to the default position, very important. Ah, careful! You're pulling a little too hard. You don't want Toothless to be-"

"Tell me, should I do a magic trick while I'm at it?" The blonde asked sarcastically.

"Astrid, this is serious. One wrong move and we could be hurdling towards the ground in a self-destructive spiral of impending doom. You have to make sure you do everything I say."

"Fine, fine! I get it." She said, chuckling to herself. How she ended up with such a worrywart, Astrid would never know.

"Alright. Now gently lean your left foot forward and keep the right foot steady... That's it. Now just ease Toothless dowwooOOAAAHHH!!"

Seems she had taken it upon herself to do just that, but in a more... flagrant manner.

Enough times of watching Hiccup steer his dragon had Astrid confident in her own skills. She had always been a keen observer when it came to learning new techniques in dragon fighting, blessed with somewhat of a photographic memory, so at least all that training didn't have to go to waste.

The trio would've taken a dive into the ocean below if she hadn't flexed her left foot and pull on the reigns to upright them. The split second stunts she was trying had Hiccup's heart up to his throat, and even Toothless was emitting a few worried grunts, but they had faith that the girl would make appropriate decisions at vital times just like she did in the past. It wasn't like he hadn't been this wild on his flights either, but when it was someone else in control... let's just say he kind of knew how Astrid felt with her first time riding Toothless.

A few more tricks and Astrid had finally gotten her fill, bringing Toothless to a slow. She looked back at the boy who was still clinging to her waist and laughed at his usually droopy hair that now stuck out in all directions. Hiccup couldn't help but join her in laughter. Finally, the stress of earlier had been peeled off his mind. And, although tomorrow would bring the beginning of a new challenge, it was all for the best. Hopefully.

* * *

Back in Berk, Snotlout's dragon, Fireworm, was trying his hardest to woo the ever stubborn Stormfly, but to no avail. It was near nightfall and all of the dragons had been put up in their pens. The citizens had figured that it'd be a good idea to keep them together since that's how they used to live in the nest. Some had set up individual pens next to their houses for easy access, but this was mostly done by those who were still considered warrior vikings, ready to ride at a moments notice if they were attacked by outside forces.

Fishlegs' Gronckle, Horrowcow, stayed clear of the angry Nadder, not wanting to be dealt an injury by one of her projectile spikes from the tail, while Ruffnut and Tuffnut's Zippleback, Ginnun and Gagap, chortled at the comedic display. The Nightmare growled at his friends for making fun of him and pouted in the pen's corner. Once again, another example of how much dragons can be like their owners.

Stormfly sat near the pen's entrance, sharpening the spears on her tail with the adorned razor-like row of teeth, but stopped when she saw a small white fleck of something swirling around in the air. She followed the substance with her curious eyes until it landed on the tip of her nose. It was cold and melted almost right away. A sudden chill made its way through Berk that night, foretelling the arrival of a harsh winter ahead.

* * *

Author's Note: Yup! Looks like the snowy season is on its way to Berk! D: Is it a good thing, or a bad thing? Guess we'll find out in later chapters, won't we?

So like I said before, this was mostly all about Hiccup, Astrid, and what their relationship would be like if I were to imagine it in a sequel of How to Train Your Dragon. I know they probably had to grow up pretty fast considering all that viking stuff, but on other issues they're still teenagers, so yeah. :)

K bye~!


	4. Group Therapy

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry about the late update. I had a lot going on, and I've also been in more of a drawing mood than a writing mood. :C But I haven't given up on this story yet so don't panic!

On another note, I saw HTTYD for the FOURTH time this past Saturday for my birthday! :D I'm happy 'cuz a couple friends of mine who haven't seen it came, as well as my mom and dad. Now I need to find another person to see it with me for the 5th time! XD

**IF YOU WANNA SEE SOME DRAWINGS I'VE DONE OF HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, GO TO MY DEVIANTART. My username is MidoriEyes.**

I've drawn mostly Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and some Twiccup so far. My recent submission took quite a while to finish, so I hope you guys like it. :)

ON WITH THE SHOW.

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**~:~See You Tomorrow~:~**

**~:~**

**Chapter 4: "Group" Therapy**

The next day, Hiccup was rudely awakened by Toothless who grabbed his shirt between his teeth and hauled the boy downstairs.

"W-wha? Toothless, what's going on?" Having been dragged outside, the boy righted himself after coming to a halt with the Night Fury as his crutch. He blinked in the bright morning sun to focus his vision and soon noticed a familiar figure standing in front of him.

"I think you'll at least have time to fix that bed-head of yours."

"Huh? Astrid?" Hiccup rubbed his eyes and tried making himself look presentable, although it was rather difficult when you had just been yanked out of dreamland by a something-hundred pound dragon.

"Yup. Rise and shine! It's time to get crackin' for your big first day of teaching, which happens to be next week so we don't have a lot of time." Her daredevil smile wasn't exactly comforting.

Hiccup looked at Toothless as if asking for reassurance, but he received none from his companion since he had already left to feed himself at the town's square along with all of the other dragons. Now that the giant bowl used for holding their fish had been repaired (due to a mishap between a Nightmare and a Scaldren), they didn't have to get their food from the mess hall anymore.

"Sigh..." Hiccup sounded almost regretful. "Alright. I'm ready when you are then." He gave Astrid a single, unenthusiastic thumbs up.

"Well, in this situation..." Her amused eyes were directed below Hiccup's waist. "... I think you're the one who needs to get ready."

"Hm?... Ahh!"

Hiccup blushed, realizing he only had his night shirt on, and nothing else. No wonder there was a draft! Luckily, it was long enough to cover _other_ areas of his person.

* * *

Once Hiccup had thrown on his usual garments and they all ate breakfast, the trio made their way to the cove. Toothless walked along side his friend, keeping an eye on him so that he wouldn't trip and fall. The light flurries from last night hadn't developed into a full blown snowfall, but everyone back in Berk were busy getting ready for the winter season nonetheless. Each viking played a part in preparing, whether it be to chop wood or sew some blankets for livestock during those chilly evenings. Even the dragons were helping out as best they could. Nightmares would be great for getting bond fires started, and Gronckles used their brute strength to ram stakes into the ground for tents that would protect their cold weather crops from too much snow. Starting dragon training lessons at this time of year seemed ridiculous to Hiccup, but better now than later when winter set in completely, right? (This idea coming from none other than his dad.)

"Hey, Astrid. Why are we going all he way out here to do this? Why not the Training Arena" He asked while sliding down from a large boulder.

"Are you kidding? The _whole _town is flooded with people in preparation for winter. Do you really want to be the source of their entertainment as they work?"

"Er, point taken. Did I tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me?" His prosthetic leg got caught in a crevice between two rocks, which he was able to jerk free in an ungraceful manner.

"Only about 10 times." Astrid ducked under a few low tree branches and glanced back to make sure her boyfriend was keeping up. How sad that she was the one leading here. Although what could you expect from someone who had obtained his viking scar at such a young age? Not to mention, his "scar" happened to be an entire missing leg.

"That'll be my eleventh then." Hiccup's metalwork, once again, got ensnared this time in a hole. He fell forward and was thankfully caught by Toothless, but not before letting out a wounded cry.

Astrid turned to go help. Her service wasn't required though once she saw Hiccup's hand go up, a signal that he could do this on his own. Nowadays, he never accepted aid from anyone but Toothless. It could've been that their battle scars gave them a certain connection that only the other could sympathize with, but Astrid wouldn't understand that. Hiccup also wanted to recover from these troublesome slip-ups on his own. No more being babied like when he was a total loser. It was time to step up and be a man!

It was a hard image to maintain while you were hissing in pain like a sissy.

Hiccup allowed himself to sit down for a moment and take out his pocket wrench. He routinely tightened the bolt that kept giving his leg heck since the day he first walked on it.

"I thought you said you were going to fix that? You know, make a new one?"

"I will, but with everything that's been going on lately it's kind of hard to find time to make a new leg. I haven't even created a general outline on how it's going to look yet." The boy slipped his tool back into his waist belt and shakily got up, holding onto Toothless' head. "Not that I don't admire Gobber's craftsmanship, but it just needs a little more..." He was having trouble finding the right words without insulting his fellow blacksmith.

"A little more 'Hiccup', maybe?" Astrid smiled.

"Well, I guess you could call it that." He decided to go with her analysis.

It wasn't long before they had reached the cove and carefully made their way down through the narrow opening that led to it. Astrid continued walking toward the lake shore, but Hiccup stopped in his tracks and gawked.

"Uhhh, why are they here?"

He was addressing the group of shabby looking viking teens in front of him, including Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs.

"They're here to help." Astrid said like it was expected.

"Help? Are you sure this won't just make things worse?" He responded incredulously.

"Hey, if you have something to say, we're right here." Snotlout stepped forward. Be grateful that I even chose to come along. I had many important things to do back in town which needed my generous assistance as well, you know. I don't know how the other vikings will fare without me." His ego was proudly showing, as usual.

"Yeah right! Like baby-talking your dragon?" Tuffnut cackled.

"Or checking yourself out in the mirror?" Ruffnut joined her brother in the jest.

"W-what?! Were you guys spying on me?!" Snotlout whirled around, the twins' laughter still filling the air.

Fishlegs just stood their awkwardly, not wanting to say anything in case the others unleash their wrath upon him too.

"Guys!" Astrid forced everyone's attention towards her. "Focus." It was a simple command, but effective.

"Okay! Sooo, how are we gonna do this?" Hiccup tried sounding as positive as he could muster. "Therapy sessions? Practice speeches? Embarrassing looks at my childhood to find out why I am the way I am?" The last suggestion was a little quieter.

"Uh, unfortunately, I think it's a little late for that." Astrid teased. She then put her hands on her hips in a stance Hiccup had seen one too many times. "We had a few other tactics in mind."

Hiccup's shoulders drooped. "Oh boy."

Toothless just tilted his head in confusion.

* * *

Gobber was currently inventorying the number of supplies they had as each group passed by with different tools and necessities.

"Let's see... Looks like we're good on lumber, pick axes, rope, and...

An frail, older woman skittered by the blacksmith with her walking cane.

"Yup! The local healer." He checked those items off the list. "Now all we need are a few more double saddles for the Zipplebacks and that should do it!..... Eh?"

Out of the corner of Gobber's eye was a dark, blurry object along the morning fog's edge. He squinted to see if he could make out the shape and soon saw a flag waving in the wind near the top of it. The colors were unfamiliar though, and this made Gobber a tad wary of whatever was coming towards their port.

Stoick the Vast was nearby, tying thick sackcloth around the base posts of their town torches so that the snow wouldn't erode any of the wood. He saw Gobber hobbling up a hill as fast as his peg leg could carry him and stood, wondering why his friend looked so distressed.

"Stoick!"

"Aye, Gobber? Ya look like you do when chasing those Terrors."

"There's a ship comin' our way. Never seen the likes of it before."

The red-bearded viking's face grew solemn. "Colors?"

"Looks to be blue and gold. I can't make out the faces because of this ungodly mist upon us."

"Hmmm." Some of their friends harbored blue and white, gold and green, or just flat colors like red or white, but these sounded new to Stoick. Gobber had a good eye with ships, so if he said he didn't recognize one then it wasn't anyone they knew, that's for sure. "Alert the men. Tell everyone to steer clear from the port and ready their weapons."

"You think this'll be a hostile encounter?"

"No, but we can't guarantee it won't be. I'll meet you at the edge of the docks."

"Will do."

By now the other vikings had noticed the oncoming ship, which had turned into _ships,_ and were chattering aloud at who the intruders might be. Gobber rounded everyone up and relayed Stoick's message to them. After giving the orders, all the men and women immediately stopped what they were doing and prepared for the new arrivals. You wouldn't think a bunch of hairy hooligans like themselves would be too organized, but in no time at all they were poised and positioned as instructed, ready to take on a whole fleet of armed barbarians if need be. At each high point around the bay sat a different dragon with their respectable riders as a precaution. If any of the foreign vessels gave fire, the beasts would return their attack tenfold.

Stoick then joined his old friend at the docks and waited patiently for the ships to clear the fog. He tightened his hold on the ax in his hand and puffed out his chest. If the "guests" were at all intimidating, he wanted to look even more so. Gobber followed suit.

The viking chief squinted at the bow of the head ship, but still couldn't see any passengers aboard. An eerie chill ran up his spine. He'd heard stories as a boy about ghost ships that were still lost at sea, ships that had sunk and, at the same time, hadn't sunk. But could this really...? He shook his head, embarrassed that he let such an idea get to him. This blasted morning haze was to blame!

As the small fleet, about 5 or 6 in all , approached the rickety port, Stoick and the rest of his people kept quiet. If no one on the ships had seen them yet because of the mist, then maybe an element of surprise would still be possible. But, even at close range, Stoick was yet unable to see who accommodated these vessels. Not a single soul in sight. It was almost as if whoever had once been on these ships were whisked away by the mist itself!

"Uhh, Stoick? I got a bad feelin' in the core of me wooden leg about this."

"Hush!" The ships had finally come to a halt near the docks, and for a good few minutes nobody moved a muscle. Stoick listened intently for any signs of life coming from the fleet, but there was only the sound of waves brushing up against the rocky shores. He then figured that standing around like a bunch of ninnies wasn't going to get the anywhere. He took a few steps forward, his weapon raised in case this turned out to be an ambush, and got close enough to put his ear against the hull. There were a few scratching sounds, but those could easily be rats or other vermin crawling about on the ship's interior. And, like most vikings, Stoick could tell the difference between outside noises effecting the vessel and noises coming from inside. This left him dumbfounded.

'Nothing? How can that-'

THUNK.

Stoick was violently jolted from his thoughts at the sudden sound coming from above him. He almost fell back on his rump at the sight of a large pale hand that had grabbed onto the edge of the ship's starboard side.

"Thor almighty!" He heard Gobber yell, equally as startled as he was. The other vikings gasped in unison.

The hand clawed at the wood it clung to and up with it came a person's shadowy form. A split second of relief that the hand was actually attached to a body was soon dashed away as Stoick saw who it belonged to. A man's sickly face came into view, cheeks hollow and eyes darkened. He looked as if he were suffering from a case of the black plague! Although that wasn't the case, it was a close enough guess.

"Please..."

The stranger finally spoke in a raspy voice. Stoick thought that, if he would ever hear a dead man talk, this would be how it sounded.

"Help us.... we're....... we-" The man collapsed against the ship's edge. Gobber and Stoick, sensing no imminent danger, moved to help the guy up and, in doing so, saw the floor of the vessel.

It was like a battlefield. Bodies were strewn everywhere; men, women, and children alike. Some were lying down, while others were propped up against different parts of the ship. One thing in common though, they all looked to be in the same state as the man they held in their arms.

"Oh gods." Stoick didn't have to do a checkup on these people to tell what was wrong. Just the sights and smells of the fatally ill were enough to make a clean diagnosis.

"Gobber." He said calmly, nearly afraid that if he spoke to loudly the man he held would crumble into pieces. "We need the village healer out here, now."

* * *

Toothless watched the odd performance in front of him, wanting to intervene, but knowing that this was something a Night Fury, or any dragon for that matter, couldn't understand. Besides, the boy was in good hands... right?

"WOOAH!" Hiccup dodged a swing from Astrid's hammer and leapt backwards. She hurled the weapon at him a few more times until it finally clashed with the shield he held up in defense, almost splitting the wood. "Astrid!" She didn't answer. "I'm sorry if I'm breaking your concentration, but you kind of lost me at the part where you started _attacking me out of nowhere_!"

"C'mon, Hiccup! Plow forward! Don't you want to overcome your fears?" She lunged and ended up slamming the hammer into the ground where Hiccup once stood.

"HOW is trying to kill me supposed to help me overcome my fears?! Because, I very much assure you, that it's only making it worse!"

"Relax, dude! It's just a little shock therapy." Tuffnut called out.

Another dodge.

"Don't you think this is a little extreme?!"

Astrid paused and blew some hair our of her face. "Less talk, more fight." A blow from her weapon had Hiccup on his toes again in no time. "Now. Explain to us why you're here today."

"I'm-" -dodge-roll- "I'm here to-"

"Uh, hello? State your name first!" Ruffnut said from the sidelines.

An annoyed sigh. "My name is Hiccup! I'll be your- woah!... instructor during the entirety of this course.... Astrid, seriously, can we move on to something more productive?!"

"What, you don't find _this_ productive?" The hammer made a sweep over Hiccup's head.

Astrid's method of teaching her boyfriend basic social skills by learning through force at least had a basic concept behind it, he had to admit. Snotlout's "talk" hadn't gone so well, especially after he started rambling on about how he himself would make a great co-instructor for the new (female) recruits, and how Hiccup would get tied down by training those who didn't have prior experience with dragons. The twins tried helping Hiccup by acting out a dragon training session and they were the students. The two pretty much acted like they usually do already, which didn't go over well at all, resulting in Hiccup being victimized and interrupted every 5 seconds over stupid questions. Fishlegs took the practical approach by pretending to be an actual therapist and having Hiccup lay down against Toothless and relay his life story. So, after Fishlegs had somehow reversed the situation from a simple question of Hiccup's and began talking about how his _own_ life had been a terrible ordeal of trials and tribulations, Hiccup's last chance presented itself with blonde hair and a 40 lb. hammer at hand.

Was the whole world out to get him this week?

Astrid had knocked the shield out of Hiccup's reach and waited to see what he'd do next. It wasn't much except curl his appendages towards his body and scoot back, laughing, but not smiling. "Yeah, alright. I think I've had enough therapy for today. We can finish this tomorrow, right?"

"I don't think so." Astrid continued to attack Hiccup from all angles, but, of course, was avoiding actually hitting him. This little exercise was just to get him used to the constant pressure he'd be feeling during his teaching. The barrage of the hammer were a combination of the many focused eyes that would all be on him, as well as the students' questions, complaints, and possible screw-ups. She could tell her methods were somewhat effective when Hiccup started getting frustrated and ran to go get his shield once more. This showed perseverance and determination, two qualities that a public speaker must have. The boy was quickly gaining points in both areas.

Unfortunately, Hiccup slipped up at one point, which almost caused Astrid to bring her hammer down on him unintentionally. Toothless didn't let this happen though as he snatched the weapon from her hands and threw it off to the side. This battle was making the dragon a bit precarious and he showed it by sitting himself down next to the boy in a way that said "watch it".

Astrid could tell it was time to quit. She and Hiccup were both fairly tired after all, and what Toothless says, goes.

"Okay, okay. We'll end it here for now." The blonde grabbed Hiccup's arm and pulled him off the ground. He dusted the dirt off of his pants and gave a sigh of gratitude.

"Thank you. For a second there I thought you were really gonna..."

"Yeah, me too." She chuckled. "You did well, Hiccup. I mean, for your first session. Don't think this is over just yet."

"Right. As much as I hate to say this, I think this is beginning to help... a little. Maybe you could cut back on the whole hammer thing?"

"Maybe." She smiled, punching him in the shoulder.

"Um, could we stop flirting while there are still people here and get back to Berk already?" Ruffnut gagged at their warped display of affection.

"Yeah, I'm starving!" Her brother agreed.

"I think they're having turkey legs for lunch today!" Snotlout's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

"They have that every day, doofus."

The teenagers' drabble carried on as they left the cove in a group. Toothless' stomach rumbled, giving Hiccup and Astrid something to laugh at, although they weren't a far cry from empty tummies either. They mounted the Night Fury and flew out of the cove, just as eager to get some form of nourishment.

Once they were gliding over Berk, Hiccup noticed that something was amiss aside from the usual hustle and bustle of their fellow men and women. No one was to be seen at their posts, or anywhere else except at the bay. Why the whole village would be gathered there was beyond him. Maybe something had gone wrong?

"What's going on?"

Seems like Astrid was wondering the same thing.

"I don't know." He replied. "There's my dad. Let's go ask him." He guided Toothless down to where the red-bearded viking stood, giving out orders and carrying around what looked like... bodies?!

What kind of crazy viking shenanigans had they gotten themselves into _this_ time?

* * *

Author's Note: Guess we'll find out in the next chapter! Sooo CONTINUING WHAT I WAS SAYING IN THE FIRST AUTHOR'S NOTE, but my 21st birthday was this past weekend. :) I had 3 sips of white wine and that was it, otherwise I get too sleepy, lol. I got a Toothless figurine and a "I Can Read 2!" HTTYD book from my bff, some perfume, and a $250 ring that my parents had been saving since 2002 for this exact day. Yeah, WOW. I'm almost afraid to wear it! D:

THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

Bye. C:


	5. Tales of Toothless part 1

Author's Note: And we're on to chapter 5! I want to thank everybody for their kind reviews and support. :) It gives me the encouragement to keep going! 3

**JUST SO YOU GUYS KNOW:** This is a special 3rd person POV installment that I decided to compose of entirely Toothless from chapters 1 through 4. I thought it'd be cool to write out what he was feeling/thinking during these recent events with Hiccup and the rest of the vikings. I'll make one of these every few chapters or so. I don't really give Toothless that much spotlight compared to the other characters, so maybe this will redeem him a bit.

Sorry if you all are more interested in seeing what happens after the last chapter, but I also wanted to give myself some time to think about how I want to continue the story line from here. Berk just received a big shipment of something they didn't order and I need to be sure that the direction I want this to go in is the right one. Hope 'yall understand!

Now, let's see how the cogs in Toothless' mind have been turning throughout all this madness.

* * *

**~:~See You Tomorrow~:~**

**~:~**

**Bonus Chapter: Tales of Toothless – Part 1**

Toothless was bounding through the village of Berk, using a few unlucky vikings as footholds as a means to get where he was going. Those who saw the black dragon ahead of time would warn the others to get down or make way, except these days it wasn't out of fear.

It was indeed strange to be so close to humans and have them _not_ shudder at the sight of his sinister-looking form. Toothless remembered when he was a loner of the night skies. Nothing else mattered but himself and his own well-being. Not even his dragon kin could be trusted, let alone those roly poly meat sacks that lived in flammable dwellings. You think they would've figured out how to fire proof their homes by now? Toothless had always figured those soft skinned creatures weren't too smart to begin with anyway. Although, they had survived this long, so maybe they weren't totally useless? If dragons weren't limited to a certain number of shots then there's no doubt they'd all be extinct by now. Toothless, however, had enough to juice in his system as long as he wasn't too tired or hungry. That's what gave him the name 'Night Fury' after all; a relentless, deadly terror that always got his way.

This was a _former_ title of course, but truthfully he wouldn't trade his new life for anything else.

Toothless leapt onto the roof of the blacksmith shop and peered over the edge to see his beloved, one-legged companion being hoarded by a bunch high-pitched sounding humans. He couldn't exactly understand why these smaller, delicate ones would always crowd the boy like they did, but it didn't take too long to figure that these were most likely the females of this species. It was hard to tell with the adult ones though since they all looked, smelled, and acted the same. The difference was more obvious with the younglings.

He saw Hiccup struggling to break free from the girls but with little progress. Toothless knew his friend was rather frail compared to the rest of his clan, but perhaps this many females in heat was too much for the lad? Unlike the dragon race, it seemed that human women were more attracted to the scrawnier, shorter males. Such an odd thing it was. Then again, fully comprehending these creatures was never easy for him in the first place.

Toothless let out a muffled roar as an announcement of his arrivals and jumped down to where the teenagers were grouped. This stunned the girls long enough for Hiccup to heave himself onto the Night Fury's back and leave before they recovered. Toothless was only too happy to take his rider away from those squawking females. They smelled strongly of those plants he'd often sneeze from and he didn't like it one bit.

"Phew! Thanks Toothless. I thought I'd have to tell Gobber I wouldn't be able to make it back." Toothless accepted his companion's appreciation by gleefully responding to his touch, which soon turned to elation when Hiccup mentioned food. At the mess hall, Toothless knew he had to go to the back of the building, but still tried convincing his friend to let them eat together. Needless to say, it didn't work and the black dragon was resigned to join the others around the corner. When he got there, his kin had already gotten their fill and left. Good thing there was one juicy barrel of fish set aside just for him! He tore into the woven container and started consuming his lunch one morsel at a time. He noticed a few Terrible Terrors swoop down to try and steal his meal. Toothless surprised himself by giving them a portion of his fish. He wasn't sure whether it was because he knew how pointless it was to scare them off, or because Hiccup had taught him the meaning of compassion. Feeding some hungry Terrors was a small price to pay compared to the kindness he received from that boy, but if Toothless really wanted to follow the Hiccup's example, it was a start.

* * *

Later, Toothless and Hiccup were back home. His owner's face showed discomfort as he fiddled with his fake left leg. Toothless still felt remorse for what had happened in that hellish moment, but it was the only way he could've saved Hiccup, otherwise there'd be more missing than just a leg. The boy seemed to recover quite quickly though, which in turn spurred Toothless into letting bygones be bygones as well. Nothing would change if they moped about it, right?

Inside his human's home, the large, red-haired man known as Hiccup's father was waiting for them. The two exchanged dialogue for a bit as Toothless sat near the heated hearth. It had certainly been chilly these past few days. Winter was definitely approaching, and the dragons were none too excited. This was worrisome only because their routine would have to change now that they all lived with humans. Sure, the Nadders had their sheltered bird-like roosts the vikings had built, and the Gronckle's had their warm straw-covered pens, but would that and a supple amount of fish be enough to last them through the upcoming harsh conditions? Most dragons, besides the ones built for cold and icy weather, hibernated until the worst of the season was over. After that they would usually hunt for prey, or whatever else they could find to sustain themselves. Would the dragons even need to hibernate now that they had humans to take care of their every need? Toothless hoped he wouldn't grow out of shape in his new lifestyle.

Once it looked like Hiccup had finished his father-son conversation, the Night Fury went on ahead upstairs. He took the wrench from his companion's desk and handed it to him. The boy thanked him and fixed what had been bugging him earlier. Once the pain had lifted from Hiccup's leg, Toothless almost felt as if a lingering ache in his tail had disappeared as well. Funny how that worked.

The two had some small talk before drifting off to sleep, and Toothless made sure to let his friend know that he'd be there for him during his endeavors these next few months. He knew, without being a human, that learning how to tame _anything_ previously wild was a laborious task, but even he felt it was necessary for the safety of Hiccup's tribe and his own.

The boy rubbed behind Toothless' ear fondly, reaching all of his good spots. His little human hand fell into a slow caressing rhythm as sleep started to take over. Before Hiccup nodded off, the black dragon pressed his snout against those freckled cheeks and nuzzled him. The gesture was returned with two lanky arms wrapping around his head.

These bones covered in rubbery pink skin were so tender, so brittle, that one sharp jerk of the head might break them. It was amazing that a human, especially one such as Hiccup, with no protective outer layer, no bodily defenses, and no strong attacks besides flailing your arms or legs around, would be able to survive the ordeals they went through together. It made Toothless even more determined to become this boy's shield, just as he had done for the dragons.

* * *

Toothless was awakened by a terrifying scream in the bed next to where he lay. He surveyed the situation and, after confirming there was no danger, turned full attention towards Hiccup. The only thing that stuck out was the weapon in his human's hands. How had it gotten there? It seemed Hiccup was just as puzzled about this phenomenon. From what Toothless could tell, the boy had a seen something frightening in his sleep. When the Night Fury was asked if he ever had bad dreams, he wished there was some way he could tell his friend just how _many_ he'd had ever since he met the lad. Hiccup then said another 'good night' to him and fell asleep once more. Toothless stayed alert for a little while longer. He was afraid his companion might fall back into that dream of his. Whenever the black dragon had rough nights, he would go for a short flight to clear his head. Such a thing wasn't easy for a human to do of course, so Hiccup would have to suffice for being in the company of yours truly.

Although this wasn't such a bad thing at all.

* * *

At the Training Arena, Toothless did his best to support Hiccup during his big announcements, but it didn't exactly account for anything after the boy started to sway and ended up collapsing. The Night Fury caught him just in time and whined in concern. Was this part of the ceremony or something?? By the looks on everyone else's faces he guessed not.

Thankfully, the boy came to and relief was evident all around. But, no sooner had Hiccup regained his composure that he trotted off into the forest, not responding to anybody's calls for him. Toothless stayed with him to make sure he was alright and listened patiently to his friend's worries. The dragon's attempt at bringing the lad back to town was out of the question, so he tried a more direct tactic by swooping underneath him and carrying Hiccup off to their favorite place. This decision was effective as Toothless received a warm 'thanks buddy' and was able to rest against the Night Fury's side. Blocking the sun with his wing, in case it might disturb the boy in his sleep, Toothless figured they both deserved an afternoon nap after today's events and allowed his heavy eyelids to close.

It had only been about an hour or two when Toothless' ears perked up to the sound of angry footsteps nearby. His head shot up to see a light-haired viking female coming their way. It didn't take long to see who it was, and that sinister expression on the girl's face wasn't a pleasant sight to see after a nap. There was no doubt she was mad for one reason or another, but not at the Night Fury. Knowing this, Toothless unveiled the sleeping boy under his wing and waited to see what drama would unfold.

Afterwards, when Astrid and Hiccup had sorted out some differences, the trio flew off into the late afternoon skies and chose a high cliffside to sight-see from. Toothless somehow had sensed before that Hiccup and the female called Astrid were... "involved"? The only affection he had seen them perform would be to press each others mouth together for a few seconds. The dragon didn't understand what this meant, but thought that maybe all humans did during their mating rituals. Another peculiar factor was how Astrid would often slug the boy in his arm, even after Hiccup hadn't done anything to deserve it. Toothless was aware how some species of animals would have an aggressive female, but wasn't this whole thing going on a bit too long? Then again, what did he know about human reproduction? It was probably supposed to be like this, so he shouldn't be bothering himself about it....

… since his biggest worry right now was the fact that another person besides Hiccup was piloting him at the moment.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the girl, and Hiccup did give his consent and all, but she was more reckless than Toothless had imagined she'd be! All of the tricks that he and the boy performed were done just as easily with her, although some of the technique was a little sloppy and could've sent them hurling towards the ocean if not for Hiccup's constant advice.

Oh well. You may only get to live once, but why not make the most of it, right?

* * *

Toothless was roused from sleep the next morning by a sound outside their dwelling. It was Astrid, again, who, when she spotted Toothless, told him to go get Hiccup from his bed and bring him out. Although the Night Fury didn't particularly feel like taking orders at the moment, his stomach said otherwise and he did as instructed, still being careful of the boy's leg as he walked.

An hour later they were in the forest and heading to the cove. Only once did Hiccup fall, but Toothless was right there to support him. The dragon felt good in knowing that he was one of the only ones who was allowed to help Hiccup with his prosthetic. Sure, Gobber checked it out sometimes, and Stoick would ask to see if he could be of some use, but when it came right down to it Hiccup would either accept aid from his buddy, or none at all.

Upon arrival, Toothless had already smelled the presence of the other younglings. He could tell Hiccup was rather disgruntled about them being here, but it wasn't anything the Night Fury had to get involved with. He simply watched as the teens had fun... or what _looked_ like it. Sometimes Hiccup's surprised yelps or screams would make him nervous. Were they playing games, or maybe just training for something? It was hard to tell. Each person Hiccup was with would act in a radically different way than the others. Humans were interesting in this sense. They all had similar bodily structures and whatnot, but their personalities, daily habits, and ethics were anything but. It was good entertainment.

Astrid got a little too rough with Hiccup and Toothless felt he had to intervene. He took the hammer away from the girl and threw it off to the side. He cold tell the boy was tired, as well as the others, so now would be as good a stopping point as ever. After some more of that "mating" between his companion and Astrid, they left the cove and flew back to Berk. Before the three had even reached their village, Toothless could feel that something was wrong. He grunted a couple time and looked around hastily. The air wasn't right. An unfamiliar stench that contained human smell too. It wasn't long before Hiccup had noticed the panic down below among his tribe. When they looked hard enough, one could tell that there were a lot more people than their usually was, especially around the docks. And foreign ships? What was going on?

This was something that Toothless was about to find out, which, in the near future, would bring him and many others discomfort of great proportions.

* * *

Author's Note: BLEH!! My hands are tired from writing even though this isn't the longest chapter I've done. XD I guess I'm just stiff from lying around all day. YAY FOR UNPROGRESSIVE WEEKENDS!! I have two projects due this coming Thursday and I reeeeeally need to finish those up, so yeaaahh... Sorry if I don't update any time soon. :[

P.S. - It's late, and I don't feel like re-reading this chapter for typos, so I apologize in advance for any errors you might find.


End file.
